The present invention relates to systems for mounting a sign or other display object in fixed and spaced apart relation to a wall or other supporting object, and more particularly to systems that employ spacing assemblies formed of releasably coupled spacing elements.
Since ancient times, signs have been a fundamental form of communication. They convey an almost unlimited variety of messages with such wide ranging purposes as advertising products and services; providing instructions and directions; identifying government offices, retail establishments and other locations open to the public; and designating locations where entry is discouraged or forbidden.
A feature common to these disparate uses is the desire for a highly visible, attractive sign with an impact such that its message is more likely to be noticed and retained by the observer. This feature is particularly important in commercial environments, where a sign advertising a product or identifying a business location frequently competes for attention with other signs.
With this in mind, users of signs and sign mounting systems continually search for alternative approaches to enhance visibility and visual impact. One approach, especially suitable for signs supported by walls or other upright structures, is to mount a sign or its parts (e.g. individual letters) spaced apart horizontally from the wall or other vertical support. This gives the sign, or letters, a free standing or floating appearance that can be aesthetically pleasing as well as dramatic, drawing attention to the sign.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional approach to mounting a display object such as a sign or an alphanumeric character to a wall, to achieve a desired horizontal spacing from the wall. The display object, e.g. a letter 1, includes a shell or “can” 2 and a back panel 3 mounted to the can through several brackets, one of which is shown at 4. A screw 5 secures the bracket to the can. Bracket 4 includes a horizontal, internally threaded opening 6.
A plurality of mounting devices 7, each including a threaded stud 8 and a tubular spacer 9, are used to mount can 2 horizontally spaced apart from a vertical surface 10 of a wall 11. A forward end 12 of each stud is threaded into an associated one of bracket openings 6 to secure the studs integrally with respect to the can. A series of horizontal holes, one shown at 13, are drilled into wall 11 in a pattern to receive rearward ends 14 of the studs. The holes, larger in diameter than the studs and smaller in diameter than the tubular spacers, are filled with a silicone adhesive.
With the studs secure in their respective brackets and surrounded by the tubular spacers, the exposed rearward ends 14 of the studs are inserted simultaneously into their associated holes 13. The spacers simultaneously abut back panel 3 and wall 11, to set the desired horizontal spacing. Can 2 is supported by external means until the silicone is cured, at which point the external support is removed.
This approach satisfactorily supports the display object, yet presents problems when a user wishes to remove the display object for maintenance, cleaning or repair. Screws 5 can be removed to separate can 2 from back panel 3. The back panel, however, cannot be removed from wall 11 without pulling studs 8 out of their associated receptacles 13, destroying the silicone bonds.
In some designs, brackets 4 are mounted internally of the can using adhesives, eliminating screws 5. Users with aesthetic concerns are pleased with this approach, yet it compounds the above problem, in that a user can not remove can 2 without removing the entire sign, again destroying the silicone bonds.
Alternative fasteners and spacers are known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,834 (Hendricks, Jr.) discloses a fastener for mounting signs. An elongate threaded member is surrounded by a spacer and a retainer. A radial screw through the retainer abuts threaded member to secure the retainer. U.S. Pat. No. 7,506,464 (Tarter et al.) concerns a sign display fastener. The fastener includes a threaded front portion, a rear portion with engagement features, and an intermediate spacer. The threaded front portion is secured to a sign, and the rear portion is inserted into a bore in the wall and fixed in the bore with adhesives.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,169,308 and 4,108,560 (both to Minogue) disclose a fastener including a wood screw having a head with machine screw threads, an internally and externally threaded boss, an attachment member (e.g. a screw or nail), and a female member. The boss is threaded onto the wood screw which then is threaded into a sign. The attachment member is used to secure the female member to a wall. Then, the female member is threaded onto the boss to mount the sign with respect to the wall.
The forgoing devices, while useful and suited to their particular environments, do not satisfactorily address the problems experienced with the conventional mounting approach. The fasteners disclosed in the Minogue patents are formed with releasably coupled segments that can remain coupled to the sign and wall, respectively. However, any attempt to remove a previously mounted sign is complicated by the threaded coupling of the fastener sections. This requires a wrench or other tool to individually manipulate the female member of each fastener, and would appear to require an approach in which the fasteners must be decoupled individually, yet together in incremental stages.
Accordingly, the present invention has several aspects, each directed to one or more of the following objects:                to provide a spacing and supporting assembly composed of releasably and slidably coupled spacing components to mount a display object at a predetermined axial spacing distance from a supporting object;        to provide a spacing device with separate spacing sections movable axially into and out of a releasable engagement in which the spacing sections are rotatable relative to one another without changing their relative axial locations;        to provide a spacing and supporting assembly comprised of releasably coupled sections, configured for use in lieu of a single stud and coaxial tubular spacer without requiring any modification to a supporting object or the display object it supports; and        to provide a system of supporting and spacing assemblies composed of medial spacing sections, and threaded studs adapted for interchangeable attachment to spacing sections of different axial lengths.        